International Cricket Council confirms MCG poor pitch rating

Melbourne, Jan 2 (AP) The ICC has given the Melbourne
Cricket Ground pitch a poor rating for last week's drawn Ashes
test, giving Cricket Australia two weeks to respond to the
criticism before determining a sanction.

Players and commentators criticised the lifeless drop-in
pitch used for the Boxing Day test between Australia and
England in Melbourne, and International Cricket Council match
referee Ranjan Madugalle followed up in his official report to
the sport's governing body when he gave it a poor rating.

It was the first Australian test venue to be rated with
such a low rating.

Under existing rules, the ICC sanction can range from an
official warning to a fine. But under regulations set to come
into effect on Thursday, pitches officially rated as poor or
unfit will be given demerit points which could ultimately lead
to suspensions.

The ICC also rated the Indian venue Pune as poor last
year after Australia's victory there over India.

The MCG is one of the sport's most iconic venues,
becoming a test fixture for the annual Boxing Day test in
Australia and having hosted the most recent World Cup final.

The opening day of the test drew more than 88,000
spectators last week, despite Australia having already
clinched the five-match series with victories in Brisbane,
Adelaide and Perth.

But in his report, Madugalle outlined the concerns of the
match officials over the performance of the pitch on which
Australia scored 327 and 263-4 declared, and England scoring
491 in its only innings.

"The bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in pace
and got slower as the match progressed," Madugalle said in the
report.

"The nature of the pitch did not change over the five
days and there was no natural deterioration. As such, the
pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the
ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave
the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets